Stephanie Cockroft
Sep 11, 2021
Against the odds, she’s done it.
Emma Raducanu has made history by winning the US Open, becoming Britain’s first female grand slam singles champion for nearly half a century.
The 18-year-old tennis star, who was the first ever qualifier to reach a slam final, beat Leylah Fernandez, a 19-year-old Canadian, in straight sets (6-4 6-3) during the women’s final in New York. The pair have known each other since they competed at under-12 level.
The moment Emma Raducanu made history! 🙌 https://t.co/HZHAif5Scu— ESPN UK (@ESPN UK) 1631398569
The impressive victory – which she won with an ace on her third championship point – means Raducanu is the first British woman to win one of the sport’s biggest trophies since Virginia Wade in 1977.
It comes after a dream-like run in the tournament for the teenager, in which she was not expected to reach the final, having seeded at number 150 in the world. Now, alongside winning a £1.8million prize cheque – more than eight times Raducanu’s current career earnings – she will gain 2,000 ranking points, which would move her current standing up to 23.
After she won, Raducanu – who did not drop an entire set during the tournament – fell to the court in disbelief before climbing into the stands to celebrate with her team.
As expected, she was flooded with congratulations – even from the Queen...
Everyone has their fairy tale ending 😊 @EmmaRaducanu | #USOpen https://t.co/2ttCchmixi— US Open Tennis (@US Open Tennis) 1631398392
From qualifier to champion without losing a single set across 10 matches😮 We're lost for words, @EmmaRaducanu...… https://t.co/YGy6ldKmVJ— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) 1631401116
She’s done it 🔥 🔥 @EmmaRaducanu makes British tennis history at the #USOpen with the most incredible performance 🎾 https://t.co/4ojIaZS9fs— Team GB (@Team GB) 1631398277
A star is born- Emma Raducanu makes history - never has a qualifier won a major- men or women- and she is just gett… https://t.co/p91JBIfNvK— Martina Navratilova (@Martina Navratilova) 1631400631
WHAT A SUPERSTAR @EmmaRaducanu 💫 absolutely incredible. History made!— Heather Watson (@Heather Watson) 1631398403
Huge congratulations @EmmaRaducanu 👏👏👏— Johanna Konta (@Johanna Konta) 1631398499
Huge congratulations @EmmaRaducanu on your stunning performances and historic Grand Slam victory! Incredible –we ar… https://t.co/vuXtQGJyGN— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) 1631398847
Congratulations to @EmmaRaducanu on your #USOpen win - what a fantastic achievement! 🇬🇧 We are all so proud. Well… https://t.co/2nPpcp8nO0— The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall (@The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall) 1631400492
What a sensational match! Huge congratulations to @EmmaRaducanu 🇬🇧 You showed extraordinary skill, poise and guts… https://t.co/XDNnbMwBDg— Boris Johnson (@Boris Johnson) 1631398834
What a winner. A true British hero. Congratulations @EmmaRaducanu on an inspirational win. From qualifier to champi… https://t.co/cVYYQ9Pic6— Keir Starmer (@Keir Starmer) 1631398615
🇬🇧 RADUCANU BELIEVE IT!! 🇬🇧 The new #USOpen women's champion: 18-year-old south Londoner @EmmaRaducanu! Thrilling… https://t.co/QtkmnwJkxI— Sadiq Khan (@Sadiq Khan) 1631398297
Couldn’t take my eyes off a single moment of that match. What skill, athleticism, courage and calmness under extrem… https://t.co/k6qQx9NLhP— Clare Balding 💙 (@Clare Balding 💙) 1631398616
Amazing achievement @EmmaRaducanu. Done yourself and the whole country proud. Congratulations! 🏆— Harry Kane (@Harry Kane) 1631425829
Absolutely unbelievable 👏🏻 a inspiration to everyone @EmmaRaducanu 💙🇬🇧🎾— Jack Grealish (@Jack Grealish) 1631399079
First time in my life I’ve ever tweeted whilst on air but my goodness what a performance, what a triumph, what an a… https://t.co/wuctu3MgRB— Gary Lineker 💙 (@Gary Lineker 💙) 1631398333
BREAKING: @EmmaRaducanu wins the US Open. This is one of the greatest achievements in British sporting history.… https://t.co/T79qRt8CIH— Piers Morgan (@Piers Morgan) 1631398570
EMMA-ZING stuff! 18yo Qualifier Emma Raducanu, ranked #150 and playing just her 2nd career Grand Slam main draw, b… https://t.co/XVBxDfFFKW— José Morgado (@José Morgado) 1631398280
Absolutely incredible! Congratulations @EmmaRaducanu 👏🏼🎾 you’re an inspiration! #USOPEN https://t.co/sIaABLyfTS— Ben Chilwell (@Ben Chilwell) 1631398386
I would like to congratulate our great British tennis champion Emma Raducanu on her great win.— Lord Sugar (@Lord Sugar) 1631398650
What a story. We use unbelievable way too easily as a description for something but what Emma Raducanu has done the… https://t.co/4DZNa38V4V— Oliver Holt (@Oliver Holt) 1631398635
INCREDIBLE!!!!! WHAT A SUPERSTAR @EmmaRaducanu !!!!!!!! And she’s OURS 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧💫💫💫 #usopen— Ore Oduba (@Ore Oduba) 1631398526
Congratulations Emma Raducanu on your amazing win to become The US Open Women’s singles Champion! @allontheboard… https://t.co/qqekTJTMjb— All On The Board (@All On The Board) 1631399331
The calm, composed way with which Raducanu has romped her way through the draw has been arguably the most impressive thing about her run.
She defeated first Olympic champion Belinda Bencic and then Greek star Maria Sakkari to set up a final against Fernandez.
Speaking after the match, Tim Henman backed Raducanu to add more grand slam titles to her maiden victory at the US Open.
“What she has achieved, second grand slam and the way she has gone about it, she will win more of these, she is that good,” he told Amazon Prime.
“This is not some flash in the pan or fairy tale. She is playing top five tennis. Her world will be turned upside down but she has good people around her. It will be a hell of a ride if she can stay injury free.”
Raducanu, who moved to the UK when she was two, has a Romanian father and Chinese mother, and played at Parklangley Club in Beckenham, south-east London, from the age of six.
Just over a year ago, with the country in lockdown and no competitions to play in, she was smashing tennis balls against the garage wall at home. And barely a month ago she was getting her A-level results (an A* in maths and an A in economics, naturally).
But she burst onto the scene this summer by becoming the youngest British woman in 42 years to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon on her debut.
While that experience ended with her withdrawal due to breathing difficulties – Raducanu admitting later the moment “caught up with her” – it proved to merely be a stepping stone to an even greater achievement.
Speaking after her historic win, Raducanu said she is “switching off” from “any future thoughts or any plans, any schedule. I’ve got absolutely no clue. Right now, no care in the world, I’m just loving life.”
Speaking after her historic US Open win, Emma Raducanu said she is "switching off" from "any future thoughts or any… https://t.co/KHoIufPyYN— ITV News (@ITV News) 1631430269
Good for her.
Top 100
The Conversation (0)
x